Ward Fall Social

We went to our ward fall social and trunk-or-treat last night
Our kids were very eager to get in their costumes. Starting around 2:30pm they would ask for an update on what time we were leaving for the 6:00pm party. They were so excited!

 This year we had 2 BYU football players and Red Riding Hood. We don't have any pads, much to Ayden's distress, so we just used socks and taped them on for shoulder pads. And for some reason, Tate is wearing Ellie's headband. He refused to let anyone touch it.

supposed to be a silly photo

All throughout the church, games were set up for the kids(and adults) to play. One of their favorite treats they got was a bag of goldfish crackers from the fishing station. Seriously, my kids would eat those things all day.

Ayden fishing with Sister Fowler(primary Pres)

Ellie matching the animals for Noah's ark

Ayden trying Nephi's bow(it shot marshmellows)

Ellie shooting Nephi's bow with her favorite teacher Sister Gause

The next station they stopped at was to make their own Title of Liberty.

While Ayden and Ellie went from game to game, Tate did this....

Notice the empty bag of Cheetos on the floor. Spencer took Tate while I went around with the older 2 and when he caught up with us, Tate was covered in orange Cheetos slime. I'm not sure how many bags daddy let him have! But when I told him no more, this is what I got....

Tate did find a game that he really like to play.

Plinko! He loved it, because he could reach it and the coin bounced all over the place. I love how cute he looks when he squats down!
After all the games and food, we had our trunk-or-treat. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the trunks because I was chasing Tate and Spencer was judging costumes. But they looked great. Everyone who participated did a really great job decorating and it was fun! Ayden and Ellie were so excited to get candy and Tate was most excited about being down and free. He kept getting mad at me when I would try to hold his hand to lead him to the next trunk. And he didn't want to hold his pumpkin, he wanted each piece of candy in his hand. The kids got so much candy that I suggested maybe they didn't need to even trick-or-treat on Monday night. That didn't go over well! So I'll post a few more pictures of actual Halloween night.

Sewing project

For a Halloween costume for Ellie we came up with Red Riding Hood. And we decided to make her a cloak instead of trying to find one in the store. I must mention that when Danielle and I work on projects together for some reason we usually end up messing one part or another majorly. So we were a little apprehensive at how this would turn out. Nevertheless, we looked up patterns online and then came up with our own. 

Don't you love the huge T-square we used. We couldn't find a ruler or measuring tape long enough so we improvised and grabbed Spencer's. Not sure my dad would approve this new use of a T-square! 

this is the back panel

side panels

I am not an accomplished seamstress, in any sense, so it was kind of nerve-wracking for me. 

measuring on the live model. not a good pic of either of us

After a few hours and very few mistakes(surprisingly), we finished the cloak. The entire time Ellie kept asking "when is it going to be done? Will you have it done before Halloween?" I kept thinking "I hope!"

 Once we put it on her, Ellie said "Oh, mom! This is swell!" Well, thank you Ellie.

She wore it all night. She even wore it to Walmart on an errand with Danielle. Ellie was so excited at how warm her cloak is which will be good for trick-or-treating. This cloak will also get so much use everyday as Ellie will use it for her dress up.

This was a success for Danielle and I especially considering we made our own pattern and this was my first time sewing something other than a pillowcase.

Makeovers and Tea time

Last night Ellie wanted to do my makeup. She is so cute....she got out a towel and got her makeup and brushes and was ready to go.

she's not putting it on my lip, just bringing her hand down

Then it was my turn to do her makeup. She was so excited and said "I love that we are doing makeovers mom. Cause that's what these are."

She did a great job. She used so many different colors on my eyes that I was sure I would look like I had a black eye. But she blends very well! She is so beautiful that even with her play makeup she looked gorgeous.  Her eyes are big and bright and she has the longest lashes and full lips. I think we are in trouble when she's a teenager!

And then today she wanted to do a tea party. She wanted us to get dressed up and have a real treat and drink. So we did. And Spencer even helped and played with us.  He set up the table, turned on classical music, and dressed in a suit so he could be our server. What an amazing daddy!

We called him Reginald, our server.  "Oh, Reginald! Could you please refill my cup?"

She loved it, but was a little apprehensive at first. I asked her what was wrong and she said "nothing, tea parties are just weird." I don't know what she had in mind as a tea party but apparently, our version was weird!

Later, we had another guest join the party. Reginald introduced him as Sir MaGoofalBum. And he demanded all the cookies and the rest of the drink. I don't think he'll be invited to the next tea party.

I truly love that my daughter loves to pretend and wants to include us. I am especially grateful for a husband who knows how to play and make his daughter feel special.

Bedazzled bums

All 3 of my children took a bath last night in my jetted tub.They love taking a bath in mine because they can "swim".  I left them playing while I went to go get towels and pj's. On my way back to my room, I hear this:

"Is it still in his butt?"  

"I don't know, I can't see it." 

"Yeah, it's still up there. It's stuck I think."

About this time, I decide I better investigate pretty quick. I walk into the bathroom to find the older 2 giggling and looking at Tate's bum. And Tate standing up, playing with the faucet (oblivious to his older siblings). 

Then I ask

"What did you put in his bum? Don't put things in your brother's bum." (seriously, I can't believe those words actually came out of my mouth. never thought I would be saying that.)

They were still giggling when I pulled one of these out from his cheeks....

They are craft jewels we used to make their pirate treasure chest. And they found another use for them. I have to admit: later, when I told the story to Spencer I was laughing too!

In connection with my last post, I thought I would post this. Tate seriously loves the Minions Banana video. He will watch it over and over, until we finally take it away. Here's his reactions to it as he watches it.

Banana

Tate loves this video.

Last night, he woke up around 11:30 and would not go back down. He was screaming and thrashing around and wouldn't calm down for either of us. Finally, Spencer put this video on his phone and Tate immediately calmed down. We had to watch it 4 times! He kept laughing and jabbering through it. I seriously think he understands what they are saying(his jabber sounds identical to theirs). And his new word is "nana". Finally, around 12:15am we were able to get Tate back to his bed. Thank you, Minnions, for your help!

Ellie's diagnosis

I forgot to add this in another post, so it gets its own. Last night after I had put Ellie to bed, she came out complaining that her feet were itching. I asked why and we looked at them to see if there were bug bites, scratches, or anything. And she said "Mom, I think I have itchy-foot-itis." Trying to hide my giggles, I asked her if it was serious. And she told me she thought it would go away if we put lotion and socks on her feet. I think she just wanted a foot massage before bed!

Spencer's day off

Wednesday was Spencer's day off and it was quite a productive day. I went to the temple with friends in the morning and when I got home, Spencer had cleaned the house. It was so nice! When I walked in the door, he was snuggled on the couch with Ellie and Tate watching Oliver & Company. So cute. After lunch, Spencer kept working and starting ironing. I absolutely HATE ironing so I greatly appreciated him doing it all! I even got to lay down for a nap (I caught the cold going around our house and wasn't feeling well). So nice. When Ayden got home from school, we all went outside to enjoy the cool weather. And the boys played football.

While the boys played, Ellie rode her bike and Tate just wandered around (sometimes playing football sometimes stealing Ellie's bike).

His day didn't stop there, Spencer then went inside to make dinner. He made Alfredo (from scratch, yummy) and rolls. And then he was off to Young Men's. So it wasn't until 8:45pm that he actually sat down to relax. I am so grateful for my husband.  He was such a help at home and we all had a good day. The kids loved having him home and I realized how much I miss a normal work schedule which allows him to be home more. We love you Spencer.

Speaking of messes

In the previous post, you got to see Tate make cookies and a mess. Here's some of the everyday mess he makes while eating. He is getting so independent and refuses to be fed by anyone but himself. Which results in a pretty big mess. Here is snack time the other day

Needless to say, he needed a good scrubbing and new clothes!

Baking with Taters

Since I've done posts with Ayden and Ellie baking, I thought it would be cute to add Tate's baking pictures too. The other night, I decided to try a new cookie recipe and Tate got to "help"

carefully using his measuring spoons

showing me where to put the Vanilla

Tate loved being on the counter to help.

But of course, his favorite part was tasting it.

getting a taste

After the cookies were done, not only did I have the baking mess to clean up, but Tate too

Tate Videos

I know I post a lot of videos of this kid, he does the funniest stuff and is learning so quickly.  Plus, for those who don't get to see him often, you can see his personality and the little boy he is becoming.
This first one was in the morning and you can hear his cute jabber and his not-always-so-cute attitude.

The next one is in the evening after the older 2 were in bed and this little guy didn't want to sleep. Spencer was making some noise at him and this happened. I love his deep laugh you get to hear!

Let's jump...finally

We promised the kids once the weather cooled down that we would put the trampoline up (so backwards from what we are used to). When we moved in June they begged us to put it up, but we promised once it wasn't so hot it would go up, probably in October. Well, Ellie held us to it. On Tuesday (Spencer's day off) she asked if it was "October enough" so we could put the tramp up. So Spencer being a great dad, did it. And now they are outside all the time.Ellie spends most of the day dressed up in her princess dress jumping on the trampoline. Last night, our friends brought Ellie some Rapunzel hair they had made for a halloween costume(thanks Rubi and Amy) and she wanted to jump with that on too. She got very upset and couldn't understand how it would get ruined.

And yes, we get the parents-of-the-year award for safety....we haven't replaced the old blue pad yet. 

Surprisingly, Tate doesn't like it. I thought for sure he would love it and always try to get on. Nope, it scares him right now. Instead, he prefers to play on his own tot-lot toy.

General Conference weekend

We enjoyed General Conference this weekend as a family. Ayden and Ellie did very well through all 4 sessions. Tate, not so much. He was such a pill! I didn't expect my 17 month old to sit quietly for 2 hours at a time, but one can hope. Instead, he entertained himself by walking around screeching and getting into the pots in the kitchen. Ayden and Ellie both have their own Conference journals that we've used for the past 2 General Conferences. Ellie's is filled with pictures of temples and the speakers. And Ayden's has a combination of both. But during the Saturday afternoon session, he was diligently taking notes during President Uchtdorf's talk. And later he showed me what he learned. He had written "I am not invisible to God. He loves me." There were tears in my eyes as I gave him a hug. I am so pleased that he listened so well and took something from that talk. The kids' favorite part of Conference was the children's choir and they sang along to every song. It was so sweet.

Sunday's sessions were very inspiring and Spencer and I particularly enjoyed Sister Dalton's talk about raising daughters. It made me think of how much I love and respect my own father. He helped raise 5 girls...and lived to tell the tale. I respect him for the way he loves my mother and through his example, I learned what traits I wanted in my own spouse and father of my children. Thank you, Dad. During the talk, Ellie looked over at me and said "she's talking about me and daddy!" Yes, sweetie, she is.  We are so grateful to have been able to partake of this inspired Conference.